United States and Canada

France stands by U.S. after WikiLeaks cables

By Reuters

Partners for Peace? Just Possibly

By John Vinocur, the International Herald Tribune

From John Vinocur, the International Herald Tribune:  NATO’s final communiqué didn’t talk of seeing a “strategic partnership” with Russia

Diplomatic Cables Reveal US Doubts about Turkey’s Government

By Spiegel

The Wikileaks Cables and Transatlantic Relations

By Scott Shane and Andrew W. Lehren, the New York Times

From Scott Shane and Andrew W. Lehren, the New York Times:  A cache of a quarter-million confidential American diplomatic cables, most of them from the past three years, provides an unprecedented look at backroom bargaining by embassies around the world, brutally candid views of foreign leaders and frank assessments of nuclear and terrorist threats.

NATO Rejects Russian Missile Defense Offer

By Stephen Fidler and Gregory L. White, the Wall Street Journal

From Stephen Fidler and Gregory L. White, the Wall Street Journal:  Leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have rebuffed a proposal from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to unite Russia’s missile defenses with those of the West, said diplomats and NATO officials.

The United States of America: What NATO means for us

NATO has released new videos on YouTube providing national perspectives on the Alliance.

U.S.-Russia: A side meeting, and then a breakthrough

By Christi Parsons, the Los Angeles Times

From Christi Parsons, the Los Angeles Times:  "It’s interesting," deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes said in retrospect, "how a bilateral meeting at one summit is necessary to yield results at another.

Polish ForMin: “We should be prepared for the day when Europe has to take care of its own security”

By Radek Sikorski, the Economist

Should NATO renew REFORGER exercises?

By Anne Applebaum, the Washington Post

From Anne Applebaum, the Washington Post:  When the International Security Assistance Force leaves Afghanistan in 2014 or thereabouts – as last weekend’s NATO summit has agreed – NATO’s soldiers can return home having proved, if nothing else, that the Western military alliance still exists.

Taliban Leader in Secret Talks Was an Impostor

By Dexter Filkins and Carlotta Gall, the New York Times

From Dexter Filkins and Carlotta Gall, the New York Times:  For months, the secret talks unfolding between Taliban and Afghan leaders to end the war appeared to be showing promise, if only because of the appearance of a certain insurgent leader at one end of the table: Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour